The Best of Hal Lebovitz

Great Sportswriting from Six Decades in Cleveland

Hal Lebovitz

$19.95

The best sports writing of Hal Lebovitz, the dean of Cleveland sportswriters for six decades. Many of his columns were anthologized in “Best American Sportswriting” and other collections, and he won countless national and regional sportswriting awards—among them induction into the writers’ wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Softcover / 338 pages / 5.5 x 8.5 in. / ISBN 9781598510232

Description

“A Hall of Fame writer at the top of his game.” — The Beacon Journal

The best sports writing of Hall-of-Fame sportswriter Hal Lebovitz, longtime dean of Cleveland sports journalists.

Several generations of sports fans grew up reading Hal Lebovitz on the sports pages. Hal covered just about every major sports event over 60 years, reporting on each with honest, straightforward words and firm opinions—and most likely a scoop on the competition. He wrote about the greats—Jim Brown, Bob Feller, Ted Williams, Woody Hayes . . . and the great moments—the Indians’ 1948 playoff game, the Browns’ 1964 championship season, Rocky Colavito’s four consecutive home runs. His writing was featured 17 times in the annual Best Sports Stories and selected for numerous other anthologies. He won countless writing awards and been inducted into 12 halls of fame—including the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Always, Hal has written for the fans. And for as long as anyone can remember, fans have been reading Hal for his particular take on events. His constant, steady presence in the local sports pages for so many decades has made Hal Lebovitz a legitimate icon in Cleveland sports—a guy who, with his typewriter, has been as remarkable and consistent and rare as a .400 hitter.

Additional information

Weight.956 lbs

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

STRONG WORDS:

Did you ever cut a boy?

Whose game is it?

A conflict of interest?

What about Brown’s book?

From another planet?

Doesn’t baseball owe us one?

Will the cheating ever stop?

Hall of Fame for a cheater?

The void at City Hall

Feel sorry for Schlichter?

Mackey deserved his last hard kick

How gamblers move in on baseball

GOODBYES:

Cobby . . . Cobby . . . Cobby . . .

Wasn’t he amazin’?

The most unforgettable characters

A memorial for big Luke?

Remembering Jesse Owens

Someone missing at Browns’ games

The phone has stopped ringing

There’ll never be another Bill Veeck

End of an era brings bitter tears

Loss of Harder is great one for Tribe

EVENTS:

Colavito is “for real” pitcher now

Rocky Colavito: “Can’t believe it!”

Jim Brown quits football

Did the bus ride do in the Browns?

What if Lombardi’s gamble had failed?

10,000 six packs

Once in a lifetime?

Was it fiction . . . ?

Hayes self-destructs . . . a sad day

Puppets at the Olympics

Eric Heiden, the greatest athlete

Were you at Joe’s party?

The last Dieken-Kuiper show

Here’s how Jordan got so wide open

Only Belle knows the real truth

THE GAME:

Outwitting sign stealers is constant battle

Are you friend or foe?

Should rain decide score?

What’s a George?

Who’s at fault?

How important is fear?

Is baseball such a simple game?

Phenom of the future—the Big A

“Can’t miss” kids easy to find in spring

NFL admits error, what can be done?

Whatever happened to basketball?

Laughing on the inside

Is the Maven ravin’?

Why must pitchers be babied?

Change in sports is inevitable

PEOPLE:

Mr. Robert, Master Herbie

Piersall fractures me

Paul Warfield: Cleveland’s prize rookie

Is there a greater coach than Collier?

Should the Browns retire Lou Groza?

Little boy lost

Will the talent bloom?

A doctor’s diary?

Would you bet on Paige’s age?

How did he turn out this way?

Playing tennis to stay alive

What’s behind a big leaguer?

Who is Lou Boudreau?

Why did Sudden Sam go wrong?

LOOKING BACK:

’48 season wrapped up in one game

And then there was Satchel Paige

Do you remember wonderful 1954?

Was he really a bonehead?

Nice guys finish last?

Their moment of glory

21 years ago today

What goes into a streak?

A treasure in the trash

Remember the glad/sad season?

A home run into the bleachers?

How could we forget the 50th anniversary?

Did he or didn’t he?

Trip to Hall evokes memories

Ah, the memories of Tucson . . .

No appreciation for former heroes

Recalling Williams’ milestone home run

A SPORTSWRITER:

Anybody want satisfaction?

What is a sportswriter?

What is a father?

Browns game stirs emotions

Throwing out the first pitch

Sept. 11: another day to live in infamy

In this case, a little bug . . .

You may also like…

  • Ask Hal: Answers to Fans' Most Interesting Questions About Baseball Rules from a Hall-of-Fame Sportswriter, a book by Hal Lebovitz from Gray & Company, Publishers – front cover

    Ask Hal

    $14.95
  • Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys: 101 Colorful Characters from Cleveland Sports History, a book by Bob Dolgan from Gray & Company, Publishers – front cover

    Heroes, Scamps, and Good Guys

    $15.95
  • Crazy, With the Papers to Prove It: Stories About the Most Unusual, Eccentric and Outlandish People I've Known in 45 Years as a Sports Journalist, a book by Dan Coughlin from Gray & Company, Publishers – front cover

    Crazy, With the Papers to Prove It

    $15.95
  • Pass the Nuts: More Stories About The Most Unusual, Eccentric & Outlandish People I’ve Known in Four Decades as a Sports Journalist, a book by Dan Coughlin from Gray & Company, Publishers – front cover

    Pass the Nuts

    $15.95
  • Let’s Have Another: Even More Stories About the Most Unusual, Eccentric & Outlandish People I’ve Known in Four Decades as a Sports Journalist, a book by Dan Coughlin from Gray & Company, Publishers – front cover

    Let’s Have Another

    $15.95
  • The Top 20 Moments in Cleveland Sports: Tremendous Tales of Heroes and Heartbreaks, a book by Bob Dyer from Gray & Company, Publishers – front cover

    Top 20 Moments in Cleveland Sports

    $14.95